Serco for Sleeper

[najaB]

We never saw this many defects when the stock was maintained by us and all repairs were rectified in the shed. We can't do that now due to the fact we have no spares and the train is not coming into the depot any more.

Have they not started the new maintenance contracts yet? Glasgow and Wembley isn't it?

 

[Bodiddly]

Have they not started the new maintenance contracts yet? Glasgow and Wembley isn't it?

Yes, Alstom now maintain the sleeper stock at Polmadie and Wembley.

 

[Flying Snail]

Just been looking through the booking pages now, noticed something odd.

There are very few standard solo berths available on the trains. Just 3 are bookable on the 8 or 6 car sets and only 1 on Fort William.

On the full sets there are 70 shared std, 36 1st, 3 std solo.

Consequently they are booked up on trains that have lots of capacity in 1st or shared that could be allocated to standard solo but is not available.

Across the 10 services operating tomorrow there are now available 100 1st class, 237 shared beds and 2 standard solo.

I had assumed that twin or solo bookings were available for any std cabin as they s are all essentially the same, it seems daft that such small allocations are given to std solo when people booking that could be allocated either a std or 1st cabin. Having a fixed formation doesn't make sense, even less when such a tiny number are allocated to std solo.

Also looking ahead to mid summer there is no increase in capacity of Fort William services, the formations are staying the same, 6 +2 Inv, 4+2 Abd, 2 FW. That is a big decrease in capacity on previous summer services.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I had assumed that twin or solo bookings were available for any std cabin as they s are all essentially the same, it seems daft that such small allocations are given to std solo when people booking that could be allocated either a std or 1st cabin. Having a fixed formation doesn't make sense, even less when such a tiny number are allocated to std solo.

This is where I think (with the current sets) it would make sense to abolish the Standard/First distinction, and instead just have solo and twin berths which are upgrades from a Standard ticket. So those who have bought expensive first class walk-up tickets don't lose out, they could pay a lower berth fee or receive free catering whatever berth type they chose.

 

[Bodiddly]

Just been looking through the booking pages now, noticed something odd.

There are very few standard solo berths available on the trains. Just 3 are bookable on the 8 or 6 car sets and only 1 on Fort William.

On the full sets there are 70 shared std, 36 1st, 3 std solo.

Consequently they are booked up on trains that have lots of capacity in 1st or shared that could be allocated to standard solo but is not available.

Across the 10 services operating tomorrow there are now available 100 1st class, 237 shared beds and 2 standard solo.

I had assumed that twin or solo bookings were available for any std cabin as they s are all essentially the same, it seems daft that such small allocations are given to std solo when people booking that could be allocated either a std or 1st cabin. Having a fixed formation doesn't make sense, even less when such a tiny number are allocated to std solo.

Also looking ahead to mid summer there is no increase in capacity of Fort William services, the formations are staying the same, 6 +2 Inv, 4+2 Abd, 2 FW. That is a big decrease in capacity on previous summer services.

Friday night to Inverness was one of the busiest I have seen with 107 beds taken. The current set diagram hasn't changed since the takeover which had 6+2 to Inverness for maintenance purposes. As that is not the case now you may see the Inverness portion lose a sleeper coach to Fort William for the summer if the demand is there.

 

[bavvo]

There still seems to be a bug with the booking system, you can only book ahead up to April 1st, not the full 12 months as advertised. All dates beyond this say "Fully Booked". That also could do with enhancing, if they changed the message to "Not yet bookable" it would be more helpful.

 

[Flying Snail]

This is where I think (with the current sets) it would make sense to abolish the Standard/First distinction, and instead just have solo and twin berths which are upgrades from a Standard ticket. So those who have bought expensive first class walk-up tickets don't lose out, they could pay a lower berth fee or receive free catering whatever berth type they chose.

Pricing wise that is essentially what they have already. For inclusive tickets nobody is going to choose the std solo as it is more expensive than the 1st for an inferior product so the class distinction is basically irrelevant, you are either choosing 2 berth or 1 berth.

The only purpose std solo now serves is as a supplement for other std class tickets who cannot choose the 1st class option for a single berth cabin, the std solo supplement itself is more expensive than the 1st class one but obviously including the travel ticket will be a cheaper option so there is still a market for this combination (especially in tourist season with passengers on Rover and Britrail tickets) the only real issue is how those berths are allocated and currently they get a token allocation only.

For 1st class ticket holders there already is a small discount on a single berth as the 1st supplement is less than the std solo, they can also choose a twin berth for less again.

If they changed the std solo supplement to be just a differently priced allocation of any single berth cabin, only available as a supplement at a higher price (as now) for std tickets than the supplement for 1st tickets then it wouldn't alter the product or pricing just give a bigger allocation to that group.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Friday night to Inverness was one of the busiest I have seen with 107 beds taken. The current set diagram hasn't changed since the takeover which had 6+2 to Inverness for maintenance purposes. As that is not the case now you may see the Inverness portion lose a sleeper coach to Fort William for the summer if the demand is there.

Down services on Fridays and Up on Sundays/Bank Holiday Mondays are always the busiest.

Tonight there is currently just 1 shared berth available from both Inverness and Fort William, everything else is booked out.

Interestingly while solo berths are booked out on Glasgow, Edinburgh and only 2 left from Aberdeen, there is still plenty of space in twin berths available; 40 from Edinburgh, 16 from Aberdeen.

While it appears that they will sell out on the busiest services, outside of those times twin berth cabins are far less popular compared with single berth and in some cases are taking up space that could be sold to people wanting to travel on their own.

In previous years it was the Aberdeen portion that gave up an extra sleeping car for Fort William in the summer peak, as the booking allocations already include 4 sleepers for Aberdeen throughout 2015 the swap could not be done without some difficulty. It does appear that Fort William will be down on capacity from now on.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Pricing wise that is essentially what they have already. For inclusive tickets nobody is going to choose the std solo as it is more expensive than the 1st for an inferior product so the class distinction is basically irrelevant, you are either choosing 2 berth or 1 berth.

The only purpose std solo now serves is as a supplement for other std class tickets who cannot choose the 1st class option for a single berth cabin, the std solo supplement itself is more expensive than the 1st class one but obviously including the travel ticket will be a cheaper option so there is still a market for this combination (especially in tourist season with passengers on Rover and Britrail tickets) the only real issue is how those berths are allocated and currently they get a token allocation only.

Yes, that's the issue I mean. But even with their global fares, they could simply drop the "Standard solo" option and just have "first class" as "single compartment" with no mention of 1st, and issue it on a Standard ticket. Then those companies that have anti-First tendencies can still book them, and you don't have to allocate compartments to solo use in the same way.

Though it is amusing that they charge more for it, almost as a tax on those companies that won't see why the Sleeper should be an exception to the no-First-Class rule

 

[bavvo]

Still getting odd anomalies, did a random search, and for Wednesday 27th May these are the London - Inverness prices

Seat £79.50
Twin £128.00
Solo £123.80
First £174.00

So solo on that day is cheaper than a twin....?

It's all odd, but it seems to be written into the Franchise agreement.
Reading through, I think they have to supply what looks like a fixed quota of Seat/Twin/Solo berth/first class berth tickets for each train, with the price rising as the quota is used up.

That changes once the new trains are delivered, as then it switches to Seat/Pod/solo berth/twin berth/solo ensuite/twin ensuite, with no first class distinction.

 

[marks87]

I drove past Dundee station today and noticed there's a Caledonian Sleeper logo underneath the ScotRail logo on the sign. I can't find an up-to-date photo, but I've marked this screenshot from Google Streetview to show where the logo is.

Presumably this will be rolled out to all sleeper stations (if it hasn't been already)?

 

[Furrball]

They do not seem to be too hot on handling delay repay claims. Partner was delayed coming back on the 3rd April - delay repay claim submitted (via registered post), shows as received yet still no response. Telephone query results in a "we will look into it"

 

[Clip]

As far as customer service is concerned, they are very switched on. The on board staff are very helpful and apologetic when things go wrong. Where the service is failing is on the ops side. We used to maintain the sleeper stock but now carry out health checks on the coaches. The amount of minor repairs that are appearing now are huge. These range from light bulbs to blinds to general wear and tear. We never saw this many defects when the stock was maintained by us and all repairs were rectified in the shed. We can't do that now due to the fact we have no spares and the train is not coming into the depot any more.
Serco seem to be coasting along waiting for the new stock to arrive but that's not for another 3 years. In the meantime, the loyal customers will leave in droves if the standard get's worse.

Maybe when you lot were doing the repairs you were not doing a good enough job of it in the final throws of the last sleeper franchise so now these are becoming more apparent

 

[cf111]

I drove past Dundee station today and noticed there's a Caledonian Sleeper logo underneath the ScotRail logo on the sign. I can't find an up-to-date photo, but I've marked this screenshot from Google Streetview to show where the logo is.

Presumably this will be rolled out to all sleeper stations (if it hasn't been already)?

There's one on the totem at Inverness too.

 

[Bodiddly]

Maybe when you lot were doing the repairs you were not doing a good enough job of it in the final throws of the last sleeper franchise so now these are becoming more apparent

I said we didn't see as many faults, due to the fact we actually repaired them and kept them maintained correctly but hey, let's not let that get in the way of your usual attention seeking, ignorant posting.

 

[Clip]

I said we didn't see as many faults, due to the fact we actually repaired them and kept them maintained correctly but hey, let's not let that get in the way of your usual attention seeking, ignorant posting.

Ahh the use of a smiley has passed you by along with sarcasm...

But hey if you think having a wee joke is attention seeking as well as ignorant then I feel sorry for your workmates if you are this boring in real life.

 

[Blindtraveler]

A friend of mine uses the lowland an average of once a week and has also noted a deterioration in maintainance and feels some details are being overlooked with particular note that toilets dont seam as well cared for.

 

[Bodiddly]

Ahh the use of a smiley has passed you by along with sarcasm...

But hey if you think having a wee joke is attention seeking as well as ignorant then I feel sorry for your workmates if you are this boring in real life.

Very witty! Have you ever thought about doing stand up?

Wouldn't bother.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Interesting diversions for the Lowland sleeper this weekend (8-10 May).
Friday's northbound runs direct to Edinburgh without splitting at Carstairs.
The Glasgow portion is then hauled (electrically) from Edinburgh via Shotts, Mossend, Whifflet and Carmyle to Glasgow Central (Sat morning by then).
The same route is used in reverse on Sunday evening southbound.
This electric route is now possible after the wiring of the Rutherglen & Coatbridge line.

 

[kevin5025]

I saw the change in maintenance this week at Inverness. Rather than being taken to the depot, the sleeper seems to be serviced (and stored) during the day on platform 1 at Inverness station. It is sad to think that the farily modern carriage maintenance depot will hardly be used now, not to mention what it means for the maintenance staff at Inverness. I hope Scotrail arrange additional work for you. Could the HST maintenance go to Inverness in due course?
I also wonder what this means for the Inverness depot class 08's now that they are not needed on a daily basis.
I saw that the sleeper logos are now on the station signs in Inverness and Perth also.

 

[Altnabreac]

Interesting diversions for the Lowland sleeper this weekend (8-10 May).
Friday's northbound runs direct to Edinburgh without splitting at Carstairs.
The Glasgow portion is then hauled (electrically) from Edinburgh via Shotts, Mossend, Whifflet and Carmyle to Glasgow Central (Sat morning by then).
The same route is used in reverse on Sunday evening southbound.
This electric route is now possible after the wiring of the Rutherglen & Coatbridge line.

They'll not have much success using electric haulage through Shotts...

 

[Blindtraveler]

I was thinking the same thing, the juice runs out at Kirknewton. An early arival then for Edinburgh pax on Saturday then.

 

[Chrism20]

Still getting odd anomalies, did a random search, and for Wednesday 27th May these are the London - Inverness prices

Seat £79.50
Twin £128.00
Solo £123.80
First £174.00

So solo on that day is cheaper than a twin....?

It's all odd, but it seems to be written into the Franchise agreement.
Reading through, I think they have to supply what looks like a fixed quota of Seat/Twin/Solo berth/first class berth tickets for each train, with the price rising as the quota is used up.

That changes once the new trains are delivered, as then it switches to Seat/Pod/solo berth/twin berth/solo ensuite/twin ensuite, with no first class distinction.

The pricing set up is bizarre, I think that is the one thing we can all agree on.

Having a quick look at the northbound lowland, the Edinburgh portion tonight there are sixty four berths available to purchase and twenty three seats available whilst the Glasgow has fifty six berths and twenty two seats available. I know Wednesday is probably one of the quietest nights for the service however this is where the Bargain berths were a good idea and generated interest in the service. Even if they had jacked up the lead in price of them they would still be popular.

I wonder if we will see any further marketing or promotions from them as its went a bit quiet. Their Facebook page hasn't been updated since the morning of all the disruption the other week whereas most other TOCs post very regularly.

Out of curiosity what was the First Group policy on solos? Did they limit it to three per train or did they allow for more if demand was there?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

They'll not have much success using electric haulage through Shotts...

A bit too enthusiastic about the wiring!
Give it another 5 years maybe...
But electric WCML diversions have used the Carmyle route into Glasgow from Law Jn I think.

 

[scotraildriver]

I saw the change in maintenance this week at Inverness. Rather than being taken to the depot, the sleeper seems to be serviced (and stored) during the day on platform 1 at Inverness station. It is sad to think that the farily modern carriage maintenance depot will hardly be used now, not to mention what it means for the maintenance staff at Inverness. I hope Scotrail arrange additional work for you. Could the HST maintenance go to Inverness in due course?
I also wonder what this means for the Inverness depot class 08's now that they are not needed on a daily basis.
I saw that the sleeper logos are now on the station signs in Inverness and Perth also.

Abellio have confirmed the HST work will indeed be split between Inverness and Craigentinny.

 

[bb21]

The diversions between Waverley and Glasgow are hauled by 67s, or as some rumours have it, possibly 47s on some days but it was 67010 when I did it Sunday night just gone. 92 was attached to the back to move forward as the power source at Waverley.

I did give advance warnings about the diversion over some PSUL stretches a while ago but no one took much notice at the time I thought.

 

[alastair]

I saw the change in maintenance this week at Inverness. Rather than being taken to the depot, the sleeper seems to be serviced (and stored) during the day on platform 1 at Inverness station. It is sad to think that the farily modern carriage maintenance depot will hardly be used now, not to mention what it means for the maintenance staff at Inverness. I hope Scotrail arrange additional work for you. Could the HST maintenance go to Inverness in due course?
I also wonder what this means for the Inverness depot class 08's now that they are not needed on a daily basis.
I saw that the sleeper logos are now on the station signs in Inverness and Perth also.

doesnt look like that was the case today:

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G90503/2015/05/06/advanced

 

[manxqueenies]

Appreciate a little back to the posts of a few weeks ago. Finally travelled on sleeper in new guise and share thoughts. Staff are the same as scotrail, just with better uniforms. Travel pack less but more than adequate. Dinner in lounge - just wanted chese and bits - ran out as 3 served - soup ok but over microwaved. Menu advertised was not in offer - no duck or lamb - jus haggis or macaroni cheese
Breakfast was the big change, host directed against highland breakfast as only a half sausage ! Ordered smoked salmon and scrambled egg - served 1.5 hours prior to arrival as it took "so long" to prepare new menus. Looked horrid served in box made of the same cardboard as hospital bedpan, egg would have bounced so overlooked, salmon great except for presentation. Stale bread role and juice.
Aside from this good trip except for fire alarms going off at Carlisle, bedding good and staff grand. May be good signs - just needs to seek out customer feedback and act on it - not sure when this will start...

 

[Yew]

Appreciate a little back to the posts of a few weeks ago. Finally travelled on sleeper in new guise and share thoughts. Staff are the same as scotrail, just with better uniforms. Travel pack less but more than adequate. Dinner in lounge - just wanted chese and bits - ran out as 3 served - soup ok but over microwaved. Menu advertised was not in offer - no duck or lamb - jus haggis or macaroni cheese
Breakfast was the big change, host directed against highland breakfast as only a half sausage ! Ordered smoked salmon and scrambled egg - served 1.5 hours prior to arrival as it took "so long" to prepare new menus. Looked horrid served in box made of the same cardboard as hospital bedpan, egg would have bounced so overlooked, salmon great except for presentation. Stale bread role and juice.
Aside from this good trip except for fire alarms going off at Carlisle, bedding good and staff grand. May be good signs - just needs to seek out customer feedback and act on it - not sure when this will start...

Would a little plate have killed them?

 

[cf111]

Appreciate a little back to the posts of a few weeks ago. Finally travelled on sleeper in new guise and share thoughts. Staff are the same as scotrail, just with better uniforms. Travel pack less but more than adequate. Dinner in lounge - just wanted chese and bits - ran out as 3 served - soup ok but over microwaved. Menu advertised was not in offer - no duck or lamb - jus haggis or macaroni cheese
Breakfast was the big change, host directed against highland breakfast as only a half sausage ! Ordered smoked salmon and scrambled egg - served 1.5 hours prior to arrival as it took "so long" to prepare new menus. Looked horrid served in box made of the same cardboard as hospital bedpan, egg would have bounced so overlooked, salmon great except for presentation. Stale bread role and juice.
Aside from this good trip except for fire alarms going off at Carlisle, bedding good and staff grand. May be good signs - just needs to seek out customer feedback and act on it - not sure when this will start...

That doesn't resemble the breakfast I had a few weeks back which is a shame because it was lovely. I would rather it were served on something other than the tray too.

 

[Chrism20]

Was this on the highland or lowland runs?

When the menu first appeared on the sleeper website I thought the range was very ambitious and did think to myself at the time that the wastage would be eye watering, although if I had paid in advance for a meal based on the website menu to be offered haggis or macaroni I wouldn't be happy.

Is there really that much preparation involved in the new breakfasts? Or is it a lack of equipment (ie only one microwave) that is causing the problem? Given the pictures we have seen the preparation time is not being sapped up on presentation that's for sure.

Also with them trying to direct you away from the highland breakfast and telling you it's half a sausage suggests they have had quite a few comments about it

Hopefully some of our many new (If the polls are to be believed) SNP MPs will decide to commute back and forth to London on the sleeper and word will get back that the breakfast is shocking.